Benelli, through its Chinese parent company Qianjiang, never seems to run out of ideas when it comes to producing new motorcycles. QJ Motor, the company responsible for manufacturing Benelli-branded bikes, has dropped another model, this time in the form of a touring-focused, 400cc parallel-twin-powered machine.
The bike in question is depicted with police accessories, so this upcoming model could either be a touring-focused motorcycle, or a police-specific fleet bike. Regardless, should this bike make it to production, it would certainly add to the selection of small displacement touring bikes, a segment which has seen increased popularity in recent times. Benelli is calling this new touring motorcycle the BJ400J, and while no official specs have yet been revealed, Italian motorcycling publication Motociclismo has a gut feeling as to what this bike packs.
Let’s start with the engine. Benelli’s parallel-twin engines are very unique in a sense that they’re unlike any other parallel-twin motor currently available. This is because of its 360-degree crankshaft, giving the engine the mechanical balance of a big single–cylinder engine and a lot of torque down low. Motociclismo suggests that the engine in the new BJ400J is an evolution of Benelli’s existing engine found in the likes of the BN302S, a bike that was rather popular in Europe, but had to be discontinued after failing to comply with Euro 5 standards.
All that being said, the new engine featured in the BJ400J gets an increased bore and stroke 70 x 52mm versus the old engine’s 65 x 45.2mm. This will certainly result in more power, around 44.9 ponies, putting it squarely in the ballpark of today’s 400-ish cc class in terms of performance. What’s interesting as well is the fact that the frame on the new BJ400J is almost identical to that of the previous model. This means that it will be incredibly easy for Benelli to mix and match configurations on this platform. Perhaps a naked version called the B402S could soon make an appearance? Maybe even an entry-level adventure bike in the form of the TRK 402?
